ISS Awards 2014
The fourth ESA ISS Award ceremony hit a new record with about 50 colleagues receiving recognition for their contribution to ESA’s human spaceflight activities. The event acknowledged the work of those who supported operations during increments 33 to 36 and the ATV-4 mission.
Once more this year’s edition celebrated the expertise, professionalism and dedication of people working for Europe’s involvement in the International Space Station (ISS) programme. The ceremony took place on 4 June in ESTEC’s Erasmus Centre.
“From design engineers to mission directors, at ESA and in industry, we want to recognise the outstanding work performed by individuals and teams on the ground,” said the Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations, Thomas Reiter, during the presentation of the awards. In total, Thomas Reiter presented nine trophies.
“It was very refreshing to see that there was a nice proportion between ESA personnel and industry,” said one of the winners, Fabrizio Festa.
Mission managers Alexander Nitsch and Roland Luettgens presented the nominees for increments 33/34 and 35/36. Both highlighted the complexity of this one-year long period: multiple launches, dockings and undockings, and the added tasks associated with the start of the Volare mission with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano arriving onboard the ISS.
Bram Bekooy, ISS Stowage Manager, had attended previous award ceremonies but never thought that he would be among the winners. “It was really unexpected. It certainly helps to know that when you think out-of-the-box (to find solutions) your work is appreciated,” he says.
“ATV Albert Einsteinwas a mission full of surprises, intensive analysis and high doses of re-planning,” explained ESA Deputy Mission Manager for ATV-4 Charlotte Beskow, when introducing the nominees for ATV integration, launch, flight and ISS operations.
For some, this was the first time they received an award of this kind. “It is a big honour for me to be congratulated by eminent space experts. Until this nomination I didn’t realise the impact my work had,” says Stéphane Trinh, AIRBUS DS - ATV FAS team from Airbus DS.
Teammate Gianluca Agomeri points out that even when the ATV programme reaches its conclusion, he will have “contributed to the success of the mission and to the realisation of another step in human space history.”
The trophy itself is a piece of ESA’s history –a bronze casting of astronaut Hans Schlegel’s Extra Vehicular Activity glove, used for the installation of the Columbus module on the Space Station in 2008. It symbolises the handshake of trust between the crew and those that made the missions a success.
INCREMENT 33/34
Winners: Fabrizio Festa, ESA Mission Safety:Fabrizio demonstrates exceptional dedication and motivation. He handled safety issues with great accuracy and flexibility, connecting the increment activities with the offline safety processes. Activities in the Columbus Laboratory were flawlessly executed thanks to his outstanding work.
Katja Leuoth, DLR Columbus Flight Director:Katja played a very significant role in ensuring the completion of all the utilisation objectives. She managed operations for the real-time teams with great anticipation, flexibility and leadership, exceeding expectations and “flying ahead of the crew.”
Bram Bekooy, ISS Stowage Management:Bram has single-handedly managed the transfer of ESA items to and from the International Space Station for the past five years. Bram has been instrumental in the successful development of a new Columbus toolkit. His professionalism makes him a true ambassador for ESA when dealing with international partners.
Nominees: European Planning Team (Kerry Sanz, Francesca Castagna, Warren Cell, Antonino Salamone), CRUISE Team (Mikael Wolff, Jasminka Matewska, Sara Pastor, Alexander Nitsch) and IOT SODF Team (Joachim Doepkens, Michael Labidi, Andrea Brinkmann, Frank Plassmeier).
INCREMENT 35/36
Winners: MARS USOC Team(Carlo Albanese, Dario Castagnolo, Stefano Tempesta): The prize recognises the permanent availability and dedication of the team members during a long period of critical operations. The team supported ESA in operating the FASES experiment despite the issues identified.
Manfred Nordhoff, Logistics coordination of all IOT transportation:Over the course of many years Manfred has demonstrated that his experience, professionalism and dedication is essential to implement ESA’s goals. Thanks to his very good relationships with colleagues and contractors, he was able to manage timely transport problems, especially in critical situations.
Leopold Eyharts, Eurocom:Leo worked as the Eurocom increment lead for Luca Parmitano's mission, providing support above and beyond what strictly required for this role. He has put his experience as ISS and Mir astronaut at the service of his younger colleagues, greatly contributing to the success of their missions.
Nominees: Alexander Getimis, Johannes Kreimer, Engineering Organisation Friedrichshafen Team (Ruediger Hartwich, Michaela Hutta, Vincenzo Messina), Biolab Microsocope Repair and Commissioning Team (Ruediger Hartwich, Scott Hovland, Fabio Tominetti,Martin Schwab),
PODF Management Team (Lobke Zuijderduijn, Julia Weis, Nicole Vagt, Volker Koene).
ATV-4
Winners: ATV FAS Team (Didier Dalemagne, Philippe Gast, Gianluca Agomeri, Stéphane Trinh):During the ATVAlbert Einsteinmission, one of the data processing units was isolated by the on-board mechanisms, leading to the loss of one redundancy. The ATV FAS Team reached remarkable results in collecting the data and in understanding the mechanisms of the most complex flight software ever developed by ESA.
Sergey Souvorov, Project engineering support for ATV:Sergey Souvorov supported the interfaces with Russian organisations during the entire ATV programme. He provided exceptional support for the upload and replacement of LRR onboard the Space Station and for the resolution of failures on Russian hardware on board ATV that was detected in Kourou.
Jean-Pascal Bouchery, Test director ATV 4 Transport Integrity Check:Jean-Pascal has worked on the ATV project from ATVJules Verneup until the last ATV. He is the Assembly, Integration and Verification team leader for the ATV production test activities.He has successfully managed all technical issues encountered especially during the several ATV-4 undocking attempts.
Nominees: Mark Kelly, ATV AIV and PA teams (Daniel Paris, Gregor Woop, Georg Monien, Rachid Amekrane, Gerhard Kleen), Christian Santini.
